National Planning Policy Guideline 3: Land for Housing (NPPG 3) provides a general context for new well-designed housing developments.

The Council will expect all new housing developments to have regard to the following objectives:

This policy should apply to all applications for new housing developments, both public and private sector. It should also be used for single plots or self-build developments and provides the criteria for greenfield sites. All developments should also accord with RES 1: Residential Density, RES 3: Residential Greenspace Standards and other appropriate policies of the Plan, including policy DES 2: Urban Design.

Except where specified, the term "dwelling" is used to apply to both dwelling houses and flats.

The following standards should be met for an application for housing development to be considered favourably.

1. PRIVACY

(i) Window To Window Distances

To ensure a reasonable level of privacy for residents, new-build housing developments should provide a minimum of 18 metres window to window for habitable rooms.

Windows of habitable rooms (see Definition) if not effectively screened, should, when directly opposed, be at least 18m apart.

The window to window distances should be interpreted as the shortest line joining one window opening to any part of the other and the vertical plane of the opening of each window. Table 1 and the associated diagram shows how the distance between blocks may be reduced if windows are off-set. This applies only to flats where the formation of a window is regarded as development and therefore requires planning permission. It does not apply to dwelling houses since the formation of a new window in a dwelling house is regarded as permitted development. In order to maintain privacy between the main habitable rooms in dwelling houses, therefore, any reduction in the distance between dwelling house elevations containing the main habitable room will be resisted.

Table 1: Minimum Distance (in Metres) Between Window Openings

*That is, the horizontal angle included between: the shortest line joining any part of one window opening to any part of the other; and the vertical plane of the opening of the window.

Note

This table is derived from the British Research Establishment publication – "Site Planning for Daylight and Sunlight, a guide to good practice" by P.J. Littlefair, the Council’s well established privacy standards for low rise development and substantial experience of dealing with both new build and infill developments. The 2 metre per storey escalator (up to a maximum of 15 metres), (see 1(ii) below), link these considerations.

(ii) Boundary Distances

It is considered a sound planning principle that new development should not borrow amenity from adjacent land, prejudice the development of adjacent land or adversely affect or impact on existing development in terms of privacy, overlooking, daylighting or sunlighting. To achieve these objectives, the following standards for new build development should apply, measured from the nearest point of the rear elevation of the development to the nearest boundary:

There will be many instances within well established residential areas and the City Centre where there are sound planning reasons for development which conforms with the existing street pattern in order to respect building lines or to reinforce the character of the built form. In these circumstances, the above distances could be reduced provided that there is a minimum of 18m between habitable room windows, that the standards in Table 1 above are achieved and that all habitable rooms meet the minimum daylighting standards in both the existing and proposed development.

The greater distances are required in recognition of the potentially adverse effects on minimum daylighting standards, sunlight and shadow, the effects of size and scale and in recognition that backcourts are often required to accommodate off-street parking as well as amenity space.

(iii) Kitchens

Where a window of a kitchen in a dwelling is on a side of the house which contains no window of a habitable room, the horizontal distance between any part of the kitchen window and any part of the window of a habitable room in another house should be a minimum of 12m unless they are both kitchens when there is no specified minimum distance.

(iv) Angled and High-Level Windows

Privacy distance reductions dependent on devices such as angled or controlled aspect windows or louvres should not normally be acceptable in mainstream residential development. In exceptional circumstances high-level windows may be acceptable as long as they are secondary windows to main rooms including between bathrooms or kitchens.

(v) Screening for Privacy

There will be a presumption against using screen walls or fences to achieve privacy. If privacy can only be secured by taking away permitted development rights or by imposing other conditions taking away the right to form windows, this is indicative of over-development or development too close to the boundary of the plot.

(vi) Distance from Habitable Rooms to Footpaths

A distance of 5m should be achieved between any habitable room of new housing and estate footpaths. This will ensure a privacy zone in front of the dwelling and allow the parking of a car off street in front of a garage. For urban design reasons tenemental infill will often require to abut footpaths. In these circumstances the ground floor should be elevated to achieve privacy or one way glass used. A height of 1.75 metres between pavement and top of window cill should be provided.

(vii) Distance Between Houses

In order to avoid town cramming and the terracing effect of houses being sited too close together, a minimum distance of 3 metres should be provided on one side of a detached house between the house and the boundary and a minimum of 1 metre on the other. Semi-detached and end-terraced houses should have a minimum of 3 metres distance between the house and the boundary. This allows for a side of plot driveway and garage to be built and access around the side of the house for a wheelie bin stored in the rear garden to be brought round to the front for collection. This should apply even where there is an integral garage since experience shows that integral garages are often used to enlarge the living accommodation with the parking space of the garage consequently being lost (see policy RES 15: House Extensions and Alterations).

(viii) Difference in Ground Levels

Privacy, overlooking, daylighting and sunlighting standards must be achieved even where the main lounge/dining and bedrooms have a different orientation on adjoining sites. A minimum of 18m window to window distance should be provided. The minimum 12m kitchen to living room/bedroom should be achieved even if the floor levels are not on the same plane. If these distances are eroded there is a high risk that sunlighting and daylighting standards will be significantly reduced, particularly where buildings of different storey heights are involved. For instance a 2-storey development adjacent to a single storey development can create problems of visual looming or dominance despite meeting minimum daylighting standards.

(ix) Overshadowing

New buildings should be designed to minimise overshadowing of neighbouring properties. If it is suspected that new housing will cause excessive overshadowing of neighbouring properties, daylighting assessments should be carried out according to ‘Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight’.

It is expected that the greater part of any overshadowing caused by the new building should be confined to the applicant’s own plot, the major factors being the height, distance to boundary, size of plot, orientation and topography. Problems can be caused by the juxtaposition of 2-storey developments against single store developments particularly if there is a difference in ground levels and the 2-storey component is located to the south of the lower component.

* British Research Establishment publication - "Site Planning for Daylight and Sunlight, a guide to good practice" - P J Littlefair (available from - BRE Bookshop, British Research Establishment - GARSTON - WATFORD - WD2 7JR).

2. ASPECT

Dwellings should be orientated to take advantage of sunlight wherever possible to provide a pleasant living environment. Where a living room is the only principal communal room of the dwelling it is generally undesirable as a north facing room in new low-rise housing development. Through and through living/dining rooms would be more acceptable. It is acknowledged that there will be many instances where the existing street pattern, the need to respect building lines and the use of standard flat/house types dictates a north facing main habitable room. Unless there are specific reasons why the principal room should be north facing, to make the most of the best quality sunlight, this room should be south, east or west facing.

In the interests of creating and preserving good residential amenity, any development proposal that contains single aspect housing, whether to the rear or to the front, should prove that the amenity provided by the unit’s aspect is of a standard that is not inferior to multiple aspect units in a similar context. This standard should take into account the unit’s floor area and quality of internal layout (i.e. single aspect provided units should as a rule have more generous space standards and the aspect provided should be of a quality that demonstrably is similar if not better than that of a dual aspect unit in a similar context). Residential development containing any single aspect proposals should be fully justified against this and other relevant policies of the Plan (see also policy CC/RES 2: Residential Development and Design and RES 5: Residential Development in Lanes, Back Courts and Rear and Side Gardens.

3. DRIVEWAY WIDTH

To allow for the opening of car doors and for pedestrians, possibly with prams etc. to pass parked cars, single driveways should be a minimum of 3.5m wide.

4. PATHWAY CONNECTIONS/PUBLIC TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

To ensure that residents have easy access to local facilities and public transport, direct desire line pedestrian/cycle routes should be provided to rail stations, bus stops, community facilities and the wider pedestrian and cycle networks.

To ensure that developments are accessible to public transport facilities, where required, new developments should incorporate through-roads capable of accommodating bus services.

5. SINGLE PLOT OR SELF BUILD DEVELOPMENT

With regard to plot layouts, there should be a 6 metre distance between the front elevation of the house and the street footpath; single driveways should be 3.5 metres wide to permit car doors to be opened and passage between a parked car and the entrance to the house. Minimum 18 metre distances should be provided between habitable rooms and 12 metres between habitable rooms and kitchens. There is no minimum distance between kitchens.

There shall be a presumption against splitting existing residential plots where the new plot is regarded as backland not having a street frontage, or where the new plot is tandem and shares the same vehicular access as the existing plot. An exception would be situations where a large cleared site is available for redevelopment. In these circumstances the site should be of a size which could create its own amenity (see policy RES 5: Residential Development in Lanes, Back Courts and Rear and Side Gardens).

6. GREENFIELD SITES

Although much of the following criteria should, as a matter of course, influence the design of all new housing developments, the Council will be looking for more generous plot sizes where comfortable distance between houses allows landscape quality to have a greater beneficial impact on the layout of residential developments on greenfield sites. The Council will be looking for the provision of a landscape framework associated with development which results in a density and layout of housing that strengthens and enhances the landscape character and achieves a sensitive fit on greenfield sites. All greenfield development will therefore be expected to meet the following criteria:

(i) Layout and Design

(ii) Greenspace, Landscape and Environment

The following additional requirements will apply to the development of upper market housing (defined as houses with a minimum of five apartments) at Broomhouse, Crookston, Deaconsbank, Leverndale, Parkhouse, Robroyston and Summerston:

All sites should accord with the other criteria in this policy and with policy RES 3: Residential Greenspace Standards.

7. STREET LIGHTING

Street lighting should be provided that meets the Council’s standards. Contact Land Services for additional information.

HABITABLE ROOMS

These are defined as living rooms, dining rooms, conservatories, bedrooms and studies.